Heel rest for accelerator pedals



1957 H. VAN DER GAAST HEEL REST FOR ACCELERATOR PEDALS Filed Dec. 20, 1954 Harry van o'er 600s! INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States This invention relates to a heel rest and floor mat protector particularly adapted for use on accelerator pedals such as those commonly found on motor vehicles.

There are several rests on the market today that are adapted for attachment use on accelerator pedals. Some of these rests prevent a concentration of wear of the floor mat adjacent the lower edge of the accelerator pedal caused by the heel of the shoe when the pedal is in use. Others aid in reducing fatigue, especially, on longdrives, since the shoe heelis supported by the rest, thereby making it unnecessary to beiconcerned Withthe shoe heel slidatent O M ing oif the lower portion of the accelerator pedal. Rests i of this type are of additional value when used on automobiles wherein the accelerator .pedal is adjacent the center portion of the floor board which is raised to accommodate .the transmission because the heel ofuthe user s shoe is ,held 'inplajce on the pedal and thus will not slip off the pedal and into contact with the raised floor board portion. gHowever, none of the foregoing appears to ha ve a universality which renders them adaptable for accelerator pedals of various sizes and underside contours, in addition to affording foot comfort and prevention of floor mat wear in the pedal area. It is also desirable that heel rests of this type be of simple, inexpensive construction, and easily installed on a foot pedal.

In view of the above, it is an object of this invention to provide a heel rest of universal application which may be rapidly and easily installed on accelerator pedals of various sizes.

it is another object to provide a heel rest of unitary structure formed from a sheet of springy material so as to be inexpensive and yet possess all of the desirable qualities of such a rest.

It is a further object to provide a heel rest which will prevent the concentration of wear of the floor mat in the immediate vicinity of the accelerator pedal and also the raised floor portion over the transmission which is also in close proximity to the pedal.

It is yet another object to provide a heel rest which will have an opening in the heel supporting portion in order that the dirt which normally collects on the foot pedal may be vented and thereby prevent scuffing and marring of shoe heels.

It is a further object to provide a heel rest having gripping means which will afford positive retention of the heel rest and floor mat protector in any selected position lengthwise of the accelerator pedal.

The nature and details of this invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the heel rest itself; 1

Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing to an accelerator pedal;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the heel rest applied to the the heel rest applied accelerator pedal; and 7 2,802,375 Patented Aug. 13, 1%57 Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the heel rest applied to an accelerator pedal that is oriented in the manner in which it would normally be found on a motor vehicle.

It is contemplated that the heel rest of this invention will be of unitary construction and formed from a sheet of springy material, which may be metal or some suitable synthetic plastic. This heel rest device will be formed by well-known metal forming operations, e. g. stamping and forming. Further, in the event it is made from plastic, it can be molded in accordance with well known procedure.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the heel rest 10 is applied to a conventional rectangular accelerator pedal A. This accelerator pedal comprises longitudinal side faces a and b, end faces c and d, upper face e of rubberlike ma terial, and lower face 1.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1 the heel rest 10 comprises a concavely shaped heel support 12 having a pair of spacedtongues extending forwardly from the lower edge of the concave face 17 of the heel support. These tongues 14 are substantially perpendicular to the concave face 17. The lower edge 16 of the heel support is adapted to be positioned adjacent the upper face e of the rear end portion of pedal A, as shown in Fig. 4, and the tongues 14 are accordingly adapted to rest on the upper pedal face. A pair of channel-shaped gripping portions 18 extend downwardly and inwardly from the free ends of the tongues 14 is confronting relation. These gripping portions 18, 18 are adapted tofit around the longitudinal edge portions of the pedal A as best shown in Fig. 2. The distance between the confronting gripping portions 18 is variable to a considerable extent due to the springy nature of the material used and the concave shape of the "heel support 12. This is quite important since it makes the heel rest adaptable for use on accelerator pedals of different widths.

Spur members 20 struck downwardly from the rearward portions of each tongue 14 are adapted to bite into the upper face e of the pedal A, as best shown in Fig. 4. These spur means 20 acting in cooperation with gripping portions 18 serve firmly to position and retain the heel rest 10 on the accelerator pedal A. The gripping portions 18 are most useful in maintaining the lateral position of the heel rest, while the spur members 20 are particularly useful in preventing the heel rest from sliding downwardly over the upper face of the pedal under rearward pressure from the heel of a user.

In accordance with Fig. 3, a wide central opening 22 extends upwardly a substantial distance from the lower edge 16 of the concavely shaped heel support 12. This opening 22 is particularly useful in that it allows the dirt which would normally accumulate on the foot pedal to be vented therethrough, and thus prevents undue scratching and scufiing of the outer surface of the shoe heel.

Commercially the heel rest will be sold as a unit as shown in Fig- 1, and will be applied to the accelerator pedal by the user. The application of this heel rest to the pedal is so simple that it will require no particular skill. In placing the heel rest It) on a foot pedal, the desired position will be determined and the confronting gripping portions 18 sprung outwardly so that they may be passed down over the longitudinal edge portions of the pedal, and then allowed to spring inwardly in gripping relation with these edge portions. After this, the spur members 20 are forced into the upper face 2 of the foot pedal A to firmly anchor the heel rest 10 in position thereon.

It should be noted that the heel rest may be positioned anywhere along the pedal face. The heel support 12 need not be placed at the lower end of the pedal face, and in practice the heel rest should be positioned on that portion of the pedal face where it provides the most comfort for the user.

In view of the above description it will be apparent that this invention will fulfill a long felt-need for a heel rest of universal design which may be readily. applied to accelerator pedals of various sizes. The unitary and simple construction of this novel device and the ease of its installation demonstrate a high degree of utility.

Although the preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that variations may be made Without departing from the principles thereof and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: V

1. A unitary heel rest of springy material for attachment to rectangular accelerator pedals of different widths, said heel rest comprising a heel support, a pair of tongues extending outwardly from the lower portion of the heel support in spaced relation and being maintained resiliently in variable spaced relation by the heel support, said tongues being adapted to bear on the upper face of the pedal and having pedal gripping means extending inwardly from each of the tongues and being adapted resiliently to engage the longitudinal edge portions of the pedal to retain the heel rest in position, and attaching means on the tongues positioned to engage the upper surface of the pedal to prevent movement of the heel rest.

2. A unitary heel rest of springy sheet material for attachment to rectangular accelerator pedals of different widths, said heel rest comprising a curved heel support, said heel support having a lower edge adapted to be positioned adjacent the upper face of the pedal and having a central opening extending upwardly from said lower edge to vent dirt deposited on the pedal, a spaced pair of tongues extending from the lower edge of the heel support and angularly with respect to the curved surface of the heel support, said tongues being maintained resiliently in variable spaced relation by the heel support and adapted to rest on the upper face of the pedal, a gripping portion extending from the free end of each tongue and facing the opposite tongue, said gripping portions being adapted to engage the longitudinal edge portions of the pedal to retain the heel rest in position, and spur means extending from the tongues and adapted to bite into the upper face of the pedal to firmly position the heel rest thereon.

3. A unitary heel rest of springy sheet metal for attachment to rectangular accelerator pedals of different widths, said heel rest comprising a concavely shaped heel support, said heel support having a lower edge adapted to be positioned adjacent the upper face of the pedal and having a central opening extending upwardly from said lower edge to vent dirt deposited on the pedal, a spaced pair of tongues extending from the lower edge of the concave surface of the heel support and substantially perpendicular thereto, said tongues being adapted to bear on the upper face of the pedal, a pair of channel-shaped gripping portions extending downwardly and inwardly from the ends portions of the respective tongues in confronting relation, the distance between the confronting gripping portions being variable due to the springy character of the concavely shaped heel support to accommodate pedals of different widths and resiliently to engage the longitudinal edge portions of the pedal so as to retain the heel rest in position, and spur means extending downwardly from each tongue and adapted to bite into the upper face of the pedal to prevent the heel rest from sliding on the pedal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kramer Mar. 13, 1934 

